So close yet far away
by TitaniaSarys
Summary: At the end of the war, Sakura is in a coma. During that time, she dreams of her life, a life she could have, while all of her friends and family are waiting for her to wake up. Especially a blonde man with strange whiskers on his face. Narusaku. Spoilers for end of Naruto Shippuuden and Boruto movie & manga in Sakura's dream. Short chapters on purpose.
1. I - Sakura

The war was over.

She had never been so relieved in her life that something was over. Sakura spent the rest of the day healing people then resting then healing again. A lot of Shinobi were hurt and her skills as a medic-nin were needed, but she had also used most of her Chakra during battle several times that day. They stayed only one day on the battlefield, helping gathering the mostly injured before setting off for the Hidden Leaf and starting rebuilding things.

There were things she didn't really remember, like the moment before she opened her eyes and Naruto smiled down on her, saying they had won the war. Or the travelling between the battlefield and Konoha. Or the few days that went like a blur. She was more or less aware of her injuries, but she seemed strangely distant. It was true that she had survived worst than complete exhaustion and acid burns on her arm. She didn't pay much attention to this awkward feeling and her friends told her that it was probably due to the surreal feeling of the war ending, that it was finally over. But the feeling stayed with her for a while.

Actually, until Naruto asked her what was the best way to propose to Hinata a few weeks later.

She was surprised, which was an understatement. She was also jealous at first and hurt. But those quickly faded away when she looked Naruto in the eyes. He was truly in love and Sakura had known for years that Hinata had a crush on him. That was the first reason why she smiled and advised him.

The other reason was that she didn't feel worthy of Naruto's love. Despite the fact that she had grown to know and appreciate, even love him, especially after he came back from his training with Jiraiya, she had hurt him too many times to count. She wasn't there for him when he needed her, or so she thought. There were hundreds of reasons why she thought she didn't deserve him and she wasn't going to be selfish on this one, no matter what happened between her and Sasuke.

So she smiled and told Naruto how happy she was for him. She hid her true feelings under her mask of selflessness and promised herself she would not get in the way of his happiness.


	2. II - Naruto

Naruto was glad it was all over. He liked to fight and training was something he would do even when there was no exam or war to prepare, but he wasn't against a little rest after all of this. Even though he was just seventeen, he was tired and felt as if he was suddenly sixty. The enemy was defeated and the world was saved.

They spent the first week on the battlefield, treating the injured and Naruto helped as much as he could as soon as he could stand on his feet, the exhaustion having taken a toll on his body. It was during the fourth day after the end of the war that he entered one of the remaining tents. Not knowing where to put the bouquet of wild flowers that he had brought, he just set it in a corner. Truthfully, he had just picked the flowers in the nearest meadow since he couldn't exactly buy them at the Yamanakas' shop. He then sat on the edge of the medical field bed in the center of the tent and looked at the person sleeping in it.

"I'm bringing good news, Sakura-chan! Shizune told me that in two days, we're going to move you back to Konoha! Since you're not in any immediate danger and we have to be careful when moving you, with all the… machines and stuff, they decided it would be best if we waited for the other injured to already be settled in the hospital. And they also had to rebuilt it, so there was also that."

He stopped talking for a moment and sighed sadly.

"If only you could wake up…"

He looked at her peaceful face once again. It was so void of emotions, Naruto sometimes wondered if she would ever wake up again. He understood the basics when it came to comas and Tsunade had been very patient explaining the details to him, although he had already forgotten. There was a chance she would never wake up, but it had only been four days, Naruto had hope. He came to visit her every day and talked to her as if she was listening, as if she could hear him.

She was hooked to an IV due to her recent battle injuries and her right arm was covered in bandages. Tsunade's healing was powerful, but even she had her limits and couldn't wake Sakura up with force. Sakura was also hooked up to a machine that monitored her heartbeat and another one helped her breathe. She looked so pale among the white sheets; even the purple diamond on her forehead seemed dull.

Naruto could recall exactly what had happened to land her in this situation. They had just defeated Kaguya, the three of them, good old team 7 complete again after all this time. But it took time for Kaguya to disappear with that jutsu that Naruto didn't remember the name of and couldn't quite explain. Anyway, they were all resting when this big explosion had erupted in front of Sakura, sending her flying backwards. Naruto didn't know what happened, but whatever provoked this explosion, Sasuke took care of it. Meanwhile, Naruto rushed to Sakura's side and felt for her pulse. He was relieved to find one, but worried because she wouldn't wake up and blood was oozing from her nose and ears. Despite the three hours that Tsunade spent on Sakura, she couldn't wake her up.

And so here he was, waiting for her to wake up. Everyone remained positive, after all, it had _just_ been four days, there was nothing to worry about. Sometimes he himself had been out for more than that after training or a tough fight. So he squeezed her hand, talked to her some more and headed out to help the others.


End file.
